'Pariah'

Adepero Oduye

Universal

Universal

Jay BobbinZap2It

Executive-produced by Spike Lee, writer-director Dee Rees' expansion of her same-named short subject - presented at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival - casts returning star Adepero Oduye as a Brooklyn teenager trying to balance the discovery of her personal identity with her aspirations as a poet.

She worries what her parents (Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell) will think about her following her own desires. A neighbor (Aasha Davis) also is a major influence on her. *** (R: AS, P) (Also on Blu-ray and Movies on Demand)